How to unring the bell: A meta-analytic approach to correction of misinformation

The study reports on a meta-analysis of attempts to correct misinformation (k?=?65). Results indicate that corrective messages have a moderate influence on belief in misinformation (r?=?.35); however, it is more difficult to correct for misinformation in the context of politics (r?=?.15) and marketing (r?=?.18) than health (r?=?.27). Correction of real-world misinformation is more challenging (r?=?.14), as opposed to constructed misinformation (r?=?.48). Rebuttals (r?=?.38) are more effective than forewarnings (r?=?.16), and appeals to coherence (r?=?.55) outperform fact-checking (r?=?.25), and appeals to credibility (r?=?.14).     

Meta-analytic evidence for the persuasive effect of narratives on beliefs,attitudes, intentions,and behaviors

Although narratives are often credited with the capacity to change opinions, empirical tests of this prediction have produced mixed results. To provide a more precise test of narrative's effect on beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors, we performed meta-analyses on studies that evaluated narrative's persuasive influence on these outcomes. Results suggested positive relationships between exposure to a narrative and narrative-consistent beliefs (k?=?37; N?=?7,376; r?=?.17), attitudes (k?=?40; N?=?7,132; r?=?.19), intentions (k?=?28; N?=?5,211; r?=?.17), and behaviors (k?=?5; N?=?978; r?=?.23). Moderator analyses on the effect of fictionality yielded mixed results. Neither medium of presentation nor research design influenced the magnitude of the narrative-persuasion relationship. However, results suggested the presence of unidentified moderators.     

Social Network Sites and Political Engagement: Exploring the Impact of Facebook Connections and Uses on Political Protest and Participation

Past studies have shown positive relationships between use of social network sites (SNSs) and political engagement, but an understanding of the mechanisms underlying the relationship is limited because the studies often did not take into account the diverse affordances of SNSs that can influence participation in different ways. Adopting the O-S-R-O-R (Orientation–Stimulus–Reasoning–Orientation–Response) model of political communication effects, this study examined the roles of Facebook network size, connections with public political actors, use for news, and political expression on political attitudes, protest, and participation. Structural equation analyses were conducted based on data from a national sample in Hong Kong, a city-state with one of the world’s highest Facebook penetration rates. Results showed that Facebook network size and connections with public political actors exhibit both direct and indirect effects on participation through Facebook news, expression, and efficacy. Facebook news exhibited indirect effects primarily though political expression. A discriminant function analysis also showed that age, education, and online news exposure were the most influential variables for distinguishing Facebook users and nonusers. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Assessing the Role of Information-Processing Strategies in Learning From Local News Media About Sources of Social Capital

This study examines the mediating effects of information-processing strategies on the relationship between use of local news media, informational use of the Internet, and sources of social capital: interpersonal trust, reciprocity, and associational membership. Analyses of a telephone survey data (n = 546) of American adults show that even though local news media were influential, information-processing strategies were more powerful than attention in explaining learning from local news media about social norms at the individual level. These findings support the usefulness of the cognitive mediation model of information-processing behaviors in examining learning from local news media about social norms. Of the two strategies, elaborative processing played a more important role than active reflection in the mediating process. Informational use of the Internet had a significant and independent effect on associational membership, after demographic, structural anchoring, local media use, and information-processing measures were statistically controlled.     

Living in the Smartphone Age: Examining the Conditional Indirect Effects of Mobile Phone Use on Political Participation

Employing original survey data, this study examined how mobile phone communication is associated with political participation. Findings revealed that informational use of mobile phone and mobile-based political talk are positively associated with political participation. Specifically, using a mobile smartphone for news and information leads to increased levels of political participation through mobile-mediated political discussion. More importantly, we found gaps in political participation between individuals with higher and lower education levels: education significantly moderates the mediating relationship, with more educated individuals showing a stronger effect of mobile phone use for news/information on political participation through mobile-mediated political discussion.     

Political Participation and Ideological News Online: “Differential Gains” and “Differential Losses” in a Presidential Election Cycle

Observations of the contemporary news media environment often revolve around the topics of ideological polarization and blurred boundaries between mass and interpersonal communication. This study explores these topics through a focus on the association between ideologically oriented online news use, commenting on online news, and political participation. We hypothesize that both ideological online news use generally and proattitudinal online news use are positively related to political participation and that online news commenting creates “differential gains” by augmenting these relationships. Yet we also hypothesize that counterattitudinal online news use is negatively related to political participation and that online news commenting creates “differential losses” by exacerbating this relationship. Analyses of two independently collected and nationally representative surveys found that frequent ideological online news use, proattitudinal online news use, and commenting are all positively related to political participation. We found no evidence for differential gains as a result of online commenting but only for differential losses—counterattitudinal online news use interacts with commenting to create a negative relationship with political participation.     

Polarization as a Function of Citizen Predispositions and Exposure to News on the Internet

Observers of democratic polities decry a seeming increase in social and political polarization. This article outlines the conditions under which Internet-based news exposure can facilitate polarization. Analyses of data from a nationally representative United States panel study reveal that frequency of news consumption over the Internet can widen disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over a wide range of social and political issues. The results reveal few signs of a similar Internet news exposure effect for disagreement linked to race and income. These findings point to some possible mechanisms of, and limitations to, processes driving social and political polarization.     

The Consequences of Attribute Agenda-Setting Effects for Political Trust,Participation, and Protest Behavior

This study expands the consequences of agenda-setting theory beyond political attitudes, arguing its significance as a mediator between media use and political participation. The results suggest that citizens learn from the media about the efficacy and integrity of political institutions, and their performance on key issues. Consequently, the information acquired through news media becomes an important factor for trust formation and participation in different forms of political actions, which are not limited to electoral activities. The implications of these results for democracy building are discussed.     

Participatory Populism: Online Discussion Forums on Mainstream News Sites During the 2014 European Parliament Election

ABSTRACT

Online media have transformed the political news landscapes, changing not only professional journalistic practices but also the way in which citizens participate in political communication. In the debate about the impact of the Internet on democratic practices, some scholars emphasize the potential of digital media platforms to establish a medium for deliberative and inclusive democratic participation, whereas others underline the development of fragmented “echo chambers” driven by the interests of mainstream news organizations. We point to an alternative scenario in which online political communication develops in the direction of “participatory populism”, involving an unrepresentative group of users actively engaging in the delegitimization of democratic institutions. This engagement results in a collective voice that expresses high levels of negativity towards mainstream democratic politics. Through a study of user comments relating to the 2014 European Parliament election in Germany and the UK, we show how commenters express predominantly negative views towards not just the EU but also national government and mainstream opposition parties. We find, however, that the relationship between user comments and news platforms is highly contextualized. The nature of the relationship between comments and news platforms across countries thus warrants further investigation.     

The Mediating Role of Knowledge and Efficacy in the Effects of Communication on Political Participation

This study explicates the indirect process through which news media use influences political participation. Specifically, it investigates the role of political knowledge and efficacy as mediators between communication and online/offline political participation within the framework of an O-S-R-O-R (Orientation-Stimulus-Reasoning-Orientation-Response) model of communication effects. Results from structural equation modeling analysis support the idea that political knowledge and efficacy function as significant mediators. In addition, results expound the increasing importance of the Internet in facilitating political participation. Implications of findings, limitations of this study, and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Where populist citizens get the news: An investigation of news audience polarization along populist attitudes in 11 countries

This article presents a secondary analysis of two multi-national cross-sectional surveys conducted in 2015 (11 countries, N?=?10,570) and 2017 (4 countries, N?=?2165) to examine the relationship between populist attitudes and media use. The results indicate that populist citizens are more likely to consume news than non-populist citizens. Specifically, populist citizens exhibit a preference for commercial television (TV) news, as well as a tendency to read tabloid newspapers. While they use fewer quality newspapers, public TV news are not systematically avoided. Regarding the online news environment, populist citizens prefer Facebook over Twitter as a source of political information. This selective pattern will be discussed in light of the debates on news audience polarization and political polarization.     

Pathways to Expressive and Collective Participation: Usage Patterns,Political Efficacy,and Political Participation in Social Networking Sites

This study assesses differences in use of social networking sites (SNSs) and relates them to different patterns of political participation, media use motivations, and political efficacy. Based on a Web survey of 1,230 South Korean voters, it finds that informational uses of SNSs are positively associated with expressive participation both online and offline, but not with collective participation. The use of SNSs for social interaction purposes was associated only with online expressive participation. Recreational uses had a negative or insignificant relationship with expressive and collective participation. Political efficacy moderated the impact of social interaction uses of SNSs on expressive participation both online and offline. The findings suggest that the political impact of SNSs is mostly limited to expressive participation and dependent upon users' motivations.     

Communicative Antecedents of Political Persuasion: Political Discussion,Citizen News Creation,and the Moderating Role of Strength of Partisanship

Although much attention has been paid to how media use and interpersonal discussion motivate people to engage in political persuasion, and despite recent efforts to study the role of digital media technologies, less is known about the creation of news and public affairs content online. This study sheds light on how online content creation works alongside other communicative behaviors, such as news use and political discussion, to affect attempted political persuasion. Using two-wave panel survey data, we find that political discussion and citizen news creation mediate the relationships between online and traditional news use, on one hand, and attempted persuasion, on the other. Furthermore, strength of partisanship moderates the relationship between content creation and attempted persuasion. Findings are discussed in light of their implications for the political communication and public sphere processes.     

Internet and Television Are Not Substitutes for Seeking Political Information

Internet news consumption is growing and television news viewership is decreasing; however, online news is not a substitute for television news. This study found motives for seeking political information from television and the Internet to be information-seeking, entertainment, civic duty, and social utility. In seeking political information, audiences use Internet and television in conjunction as supplements or complements, rather than as substitutes. Multiple regression analysis showed that information-seeking and social utility predicted television use, and information-seeking and civic duty predicted Internet use.     

An Entrance for the Uninterested: Who Watches Soft News and How Does It Affect Their Political Participation?

As soft news shows in television present politics in an entertaining format, they are likely to attract and grab the attention of people who do not have a high interest in politics. Consequently, soft news might mobilize these citizens to engage in politics. This study tests this potential by using a 2-wave panel survey among a national sample of voters (N = 2,680) collected in relation to the 2015 National Election in Denmark. The results show that people with lower political interest were indeed more likely to increase their use of soft news during the election campaign and that, as a consequence, these low-motivated people also increased their passive participation, such as seeking additional information about the election. Further, the results show that this type of passive participation is likely to function as a stepping-stone to active forms of participation, such as attending political events or contacting politicians.     

The Impact of News Use and News Content Characteristics on Political Knowledge and Participation

Research has examined the relationship between traditional news media use and normatively important political outcomes such as knowledge and participation. However, most research fails to account for variations in the nature of news over time and across communities that could alter the fundamental relationship between exposure and these outcomes. Here two studies are presented—one with variation in news characteristics over time based on the American National Election Studies time series data and another with variation across local communities and newspapers within a single state during a single election year—to assess the hypothesis that the relationship between news use and political outcomes are moderated by natural variations in the nature of the news content and news outlets.     

From Grand Narratives of Democracy to Small Expectations of Participation

This article critically examines the invocation of democracy in the discourse of audience participation in digital journalism. Rather than simply restate the familiar grand narratives that traditionally described journalism's function for democracy (information source, watchdog, public representative, mediation for political actors), we compare and contrast conceptualisations of the audience found within these and discuss how digital technologies impact these relationships. We consider how “participatory” transformations influence perceptions of news consumption and draw out analytic distinctions based on structures of participation and different levels of engagement. This article argues that the focus in digital journalism is not so much on citizen engagement but rather audience or user interaction; instead of participation through news, the focus is on participation in news. This demands we distinguish between minimalist and maximalist versions of participation through interactive tools, as there is a significant distinction between technologies that allow individuals to control and personalise content (basic digital control) and entire platforms that easily facilitate the storytelling and distribution of citizen journalism within public discourse (integrative structural participation). Furthermore, commercial interests tend to dominate the shaping of digital affordances, which can lead to individualistic rather than collective conceptualisations. This article concludes by considering what is gained as well as lost when grand visions of journalism's roles for democracy are appropriated or discarded in favour of a participation paradigm to conceptualise digital journalism.     

Taking sides in the war on news: exploring curvilinear associations and group differences related to perceptions of news media as threat

ABSTRACT

The free press performs essential democratic functions, but widespread negative attitudes toward the press threaten its legitimacy and effectiveness as a check on formal institutions. In order to combat these attitudes, media organizations must understand who holds them and why. A survey-based study of U.S. adults (N?=?2052) focuses on associations between perceptions of the news media industry as a threat to political performance and a range of politically oriented behaviors (i.e. news media exposure, political talk, political participation). Analyses reveal a series of non-monotonic relationships. Group differences between those who hold the most extreme views concerning news-media-as-threat are also explored. The opposing groups are distinct in some important ways (e.g. ideology, race), but are also found to be surprisingly similar (e.g. income, education, gender, news media exposure). The results suggest new strategies for maintaining and restoring confidence in media organizations.     

Does Online News Reading and Sharing Shape Perceptions of the Internet as a Place for Public Deliberations?

With the rapid development of interactive communication technology, the Internet is a major source of news and also plays an important role in connecting individual members of society. However, Internet users may have different perspectives on whether the Internet positively functions as a medium for public deliberation. Based on the assumption that being exposed to information on public affairs is a crucial step for one's civic engagement, this study explores how individuals’ motives related to news consumption, elaborative online news reading, and online news sharing influence their perceptions of online deliberation using structural equation modeling method (N = 998). The study finds significant relationships between news consumption motives and elaborative news reading and sharing behaviors, but only elaborative reading behavior had a significant effect on one's perceptions of online deliberation. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

The Role of Perceptions of Media Bias in General and Issue-Specific Political Participation

Despite a large body of literature documenting factors influencing general political participation, research has lagged in understanding what motivates participation regarding specific issues. Our research fills this gap by examining the interplay of perceptions of media bias, trust in government, and political efficacy on individuals' levels of general and issue-specific political participation. Using survey data with indicators related to general political participation, our results demonstrate that perceptions of media bias overall are negatively related to general political participation. Moreover, this relationship is an indirect one, mediated by trust in government and political efficacy. Using survey data with indicators of issue-specific political participation in the context of stem cell research, our results show that—contrary to the relationship found for general political participation—perceptions of media bias are directly and positively associated with issue-specific participation. Implications for political participation and media bias theories are discussed.